I have owned my Framework 13 laptop for a bit more than a year now. As of a couple days ago, the fan makes a scraping sound when it spins, even at low RPM. This is the second time this has happened since I got the laptop.
The first time, the symptoms were the same. I contacted support, who helped me troubleshoot the issue. When none of the suggested fixes worked, they sent me a replacement cooling assembly free of charge. The process was as painless as customer support can be and I was satisfied with my replacement.
But now that the issue is back it leaves me wondering: Is this going to happen every 6 months? Will I have to order a new fan twice a year because the bearings wear out? How common is this issue? Was I just unlucky and got two defective fans? I will try blowing out dust and checking for anything obstructing the fan, but I’m not confident that’s going to solve the issue.
A quick google search brings up a number of posts from users with the exact same problem. The solution always seems to be to replace the whole cooling system, which seems very wasteful considering it’s only the fan that is defective. Does anyone have a fix for this, other than getting a replacement? Is there a way to take the fan apart and put everything back in place? Have there been any hardware revisions in the past 6 months addressing the issue? If not, I will probably just stick with the noisy fan until it stops spinning.
I like having a laptop that I can repair, I don’t want a laptop that I have to repair twice a year.
Hey man! I feel for your issue because I guess I have encountered the same issue with my FW13 AMD laptop. I would also bet that the bearings are the culprit.
Here is link to a audio I recorded with my FW laptop. Can you please confirm if you are suffering from the same more or less?
Very similar experience to @gringrind. The first fan got replaced by support just after using the laptop for about 1 month and now the new fan also starts to sound like it is scraping again. So far, it is barely noticeable, but I also expect it to get worse.
EDIT: @Jan_Slavotinek1 I can confirm that my first fan sounded like this. The second one isn’t there yet, I suppose.
I have the same problem with the Framework 16 laptop GPU left fan. When I apply some light pressure around the fan, it gets louder. Is this a bearing issue?
I have no clue where the issue originates from. But it simply is there. I am really worried that this issue is here to stay :/. Its a small thing, but it decreses the quality of life of a FW users.
I have been given a new fan-heatsing component to replace mine, but I am worried that soon enough the issue will be back as others reported.
I will replace the fan and see if the issue returns back. If so, I will contact support again. I mean this issue should be removed.
I can confirm the pressure issue. When I am fiddling with the screws of the fan, it has some impact on the issue. However, I am unable to resolve the issue just by changing the pressure by tightening or loosening the screws.
I am also having this issue on my less than a month old FW16… Definitely a scraping sound.
Just emailed support to see about a replacement fan (fingers crossed), but kinda worried it will happen again… Wondering if there’s a better quality fan I can replace it with?
